FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

L4UHC is a leadership programme that enables senior decision-makers to develop the collaborative skills and collective actions needed to bring together different national stakeholders to advance UHC.

This collaborative approach is especially important for overcoming the political barriers to UHC, with its different interest groups. Significantly, the skills developed are used to initiate practical, collective actions in participating countries, supported by in-country coaches, funding and technical expertise. These actions help catalyse additional initiatives, creating the momentum for greater progress.

L4UHC is designed to complement and build on existing programmes, not to compete with them. It has three distinguishing characteristics that are essential for overcoming the political barriers that often slow the progress of UHC. These include:

• Development of collaborative leadership skills: Professional facilitators take participants through a variety of exercises to help develop their ability to broker consensus, build coalitions and gain political support for change. Typically, representatives from three to four countries take part.
  

• Creation of multi-stakeholder teams: L4UHC creates a space for senior decision-makers from different fields, such as health, finance and social welfare, to come together and form national, multi-stakeholder teams. Each team develops a shared vision for advancing UHC for their country, including roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder group in the team.
  

• Practical, collective initiatives: Each national team develops and implements a practical initiative for progressing UHC in their home country, with technical and financial support from L4UHC’s in-country partners. These initiatives act as catalysts for further, more substantial collaborative initiatives.

The programme is designed for senior decision-makers who have a significant stake in UHC reforms in their country, such as high-level representatives of government ministries, civil society organisations, social security funds, and healthcare providers (public and private).

L4UHC enables participants to:

• Understand the complexity of UHC, including potential allies and sources of opposition.
  
  
• Develop personal and collective leadership skills to broker consensus, build coalitions, and gain political commitment for change.
  
  
• Establish a shared vision for UHC, aligned with their national agenda.
  
  
• Identify and rapidly implement collective action initiatives in their country as triggers for wider change.

The programme spans a year and involves six stages, alternating between four-day modules in ‘host’ countries that have progressed UHC, and practical initiatives in participants’ home countries. The host country modules are supported by professional facilitators, and the home country initiatives by L4UHC’s local coaches.

The six stages include:

• Understanding the complexities of UHC in a host country, and developing the skills to gain deeper insights and to collaborate (4 days)
  
  
• Conducting research in home countries to identify potential collective actions (50+ days)
  
  
• Defining collective actions and plans for each national team, in a host country (4 days)
  
  
• Implementing the collective actions in the home countries, supported by local L4UHC coaches (100+ days).
  
  
• Analysing the results, in a host country, and building the skills to collectively and plan for future initiatives (4 days)
  
  
• Continuing the reforms in the home countries, supported by development partners.

Yes. Participants receive support in their countries through our Country Focal Points and Coaches.

• Country Focal Points manage the L4UHC programme in participants’ countries, provide technical and analytical support, facilitate high-level discussions, and manage partnerships. They also work with our Coaches (see next point) to advance participants’ Collective Action Initiatives. 

• Coaches guide participants and other stakeholders through the process for the programme’s 100-day Collective Action Initiatives, based on a rapid results methodology. They are not content experts but instead provide predominantly process support throughout the Collective Action Initiatives, including overseeing the process, providing administrative support for the initiatives, such as arranging meetings, and developing the capacity of participants to manage these initiatives themselves going forward.

We are committed to an evidence-based approach and have commissioned an independent consultancy to evaluate L4UHC’s impact, including its strengths and weaknesses, so that we can continue to improve it. Some of the results delivered through L4UHC-supported collective actions include:

• Nepal has reformed how it procures drugs, helping to improve drug availability and distribution.
  
  
• A payment certification agency was created in Cambodia, and quality assessment rolled out nationally.
  
  
• Benin is piloting a new insurance scheme in its North Zone, and defined a basic health package.
  
  
• A decree for establishing a National Insurance Fund has been agreed by the Council of Ministers in Madagascar.

14 countries in Africa and Asia have either completed or are currently taking part in the programme. Several others are about to start.

COUNTRIES CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING

AFRICA

• Burkino Faso
• Chad
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Cameroon
• Niger
• Senegal

ASIA

• Cambodia
• Nepal
• Pakistan

PAST PARTICIPANT COUNTRIES

AFRICA

• Benin
• Madagascar

ASIA

• Lao PDR
• Vietnam

Several countries have also hosted L4UHC, providing participants with insights into ways to accelerate UHC. These countries include: France, Japan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.

No. All the costs, including travel to host countries and events, are covered by our funders. L4UHC also funds in-country support to enable you to bring your collective action initiatives to life.

L4UHC receives financial and in-kind implementation support from France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, GIZ, ILO, USAID  World Bank and WHO, as well as additional financial contributions from Germany’s Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation and the Swiss government. 

There is a wealth of information on this website: www.l4uhc.world

Just get in touch with us. Email us at info@l4UHC.world. And if you’d like to talk to previous or ongoing participants to get a first-hand perspective of the programme, we can put you in contact with them.